Currently, silicon oxide (silica) chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is the highest quality slurry for a producing ultraflat surfaces, where an ultra-smooth surface can be an advantage to many applications to conserve energy, reduce friction, improve performance of integrated circuits, and reduce corrosion. For example, ball bearings can roll with less resistance and have less chance for corrosion, while lasting longer.
In such applications and others, there is a desire for a process for producing even smoother surfaces on hard ultra-smooth substrates.